Black Hair
by Shayera
Summary: Nami decides to color her hair. One of her crewmates is not amused.


Nami entered the kitchen late this morning. Even before she opened the door she could hear the familiar racket of friendly fighting, and a gulping sound that could only be Luffy stuffing himself to the limit of his rubber mouth. She smiled to herself as she put a hand on the door handle. If Sanji-kun hadn't been so eager to serve her she might have had to exercise her thieving skills just to have something to eat in this place. Not that she would mind that very much, but it was easier as it was.

She wasn't late because she had slept in today - Nami seldom slept more than she needed; she felt it would be a waste of perfectly good time. Rather, she had spent the morning trying something new, and the mirror in her cabin told her the result was satisfying. Knowing her crewmates, however, some of them might not even notice.

"Nami-san!" Sanji rose immediately when she entered the kitchen, forgetting all about Luffy, who took the opportunity to snatch a piece of bacon from the cook's plate. "Did you sleep well, Nami-san? Are you hungry? I have..." He stopped in his tracks mid-sentence, his eyes widening in a very gratifying way.

The rest of the crew was used to the blond's ravings, but his sudden silence made them stop, too, and take a second look at Nami.

"Do you like it?" she asked, running her fingers through her hair - not the usual red-blond, but shining black. "It suits me, don't you think?" she added with a teasing smile at Sanji. 

Sanji finally got his voice back. "Of course it does, Nami-san!" he exclaimed. "It's beautiful! Even more striking than ever, with the black framing your face, the way it brings out your eyes... Wonderful, Nami-san!"

"Well, thank you, Sanji-kun," Nami replied. The cook's flattery was expected, and she couldn't take it very seriously, but it was still nice to hear. Having him around was convenient in so many ways, she mused as she sat down at the table and grabbed a piece of bread, not seeing anything else left on the table but fully aware that Sanji would soon be there to offer her some special treat that he had saved for her alone. "What about the rest of you?"

Luffy had too much meat in his mouth to be able to answer properly, but he nodded happily and gave her a thumbs' up.

Usopp studied her seriously with a finger pressed to the side of his long nose. "You look... different," he said, unusually honest. "It looks good, it really does, but you somehow don't look very much like Nami anymore." He grinned. "Well, you do look great! I once knew a girl who colored her hair in red and purple stripes, and she..."

Nami was used to Usopp's tales and knew how to tune them out if she wasn't in the mood for them, and right now she had discovered something more interesting. Zoro was still staring at her, and his face was _twitching_.

"Zoro?" she asked, giving him a curious look. "You don't like it?"

The swordsmaster averted his eyes as soon as she turned to him. Growling something inaudible that might very well have been a curse, he rose stiffly from the table and left for the outer deck.

"How rude!" Sanji exclaimed. "Zoro, you bastard! Don't you have any manners at all?" He was halfway out the door, probably to give his crewmate a good kick, when Nami stopped him.

"Leave him alone, Sanji-kun," she said.

"But he insulted you!" the cook protested. "Are you sure you want to just let him go?"

"I'm sure he's got some kind of reason." She frowned. "But I have to admit I have no idea what that could be. Do you know something?" She looked around at Sanji and the guys still at the table.

Usopp shook his head. "Not really. Maybe he's afraid of black-haired women? I've heard of phobias like that."

The thought made Nami choke down a laugh. That would indeed be an interesting discovery, especially if she could exploit it somehow. Zoro was such a bore sometimes anyway.

"I don't think so," Sanji said. "I saw him with a black-haired girl in Roguetown, and he didn't seem scared of her. Angry, maybe, but that could have been because she wanted to fight him."

"If you want to know something," Luffy chimed in, having finally swallowed enough to be able to speak, "why don't you just ask him?"

"That's just what I'm going to do," Nami replied. "But first - breakfast!"

"Great idea!" Luffy agreed as if he hadn't been stuffing himself all morning. "Sanji, is there any more of that meat?"

* * *

It was a fine, warm day outside, a soft wind driving the ship forward but not rocking it much. Nami found Zoro sitting propped against the railing near the back of the ship, apparently asleep, but not snoring. The three katanas were leaned against the railing beside him as usual; the swordsmaster didn't even consider the possibility that they might fall off.

As she wanted him to know she was there, Nami didn't bother to silence her footsteps when she approached. However, her crewmate didn't react to her presence, even when she let her shadow fall on him, blocking him from the sun.

"Zoro?" No reply. After a few seconds she kicked him in the side, not too hard, but braced to kick harder if he still didn't acknowledge her presence.

She was rewarded with a grunt. "Get lost," Zoro grumbled without opening his eyes. "I'm asleep."

"No you're not," Nami argued. "And I'm not going to get lost until you at least look at me."

"I'm asleep," the swordsman repeated, as if that explained everything.

"Zoro," she said in her most teasing voice. "Are you sure you don't want to open your eyes? I've got a treat for you if you do." That tone would have sent Sanji flying, but Zoro didn't even deign to reply.

Fine, then. She would spell it out. "What's the matter with you, Zoro? If you don't like me with black hair, you should just say so!"

"It's nothing."

That was about as convincing as the swordsman's stubborn 'I'm fine' when his guts were practically falling out from his stomach in battle, and Nami believed it just as much. On an inspiration, she reached out and grabbed one of the swords - the white one, which was closest. She had only intended to poke him with the scabbard, but when she grabbed the sword, his fighter instincts must have kicked in and he finally opened his eyes. He didn't just open them; he opened them _wide_, wider than Nami would have thought his face capable of.

__

Standing over Zoro, blocking out the sun, was Kuina, her own white katana in hand, staring at him disapprovingly.

Zoro blinked and let out a wordless growl. "Nami!" he almost screamed. "Dammit, Nami, don't look like that!" He snatched his sword back from her and held it protectively in both hands.

Ah, there it was. Obviously this was more than just Zoro disliking her new hairstyle. "Look like what?" she asked innocently.

"Like her!" Zoro jumped up to stand in front of her, looking down on her instead of the other way around. "Quit stealing her face, you damned thief!"

"I'm a thief alright," Nami said with a grin, "but I can't recall ever stealing a face. I'm more into gold, myself."

"Just color your hair back already!" Zoro snapped. "This is driving me nuts."

Nami tilted her head and tried to catch his eyes again. He was still twitching when he looked at her. "Just whose face did I steal anyway? An old girlfriend's?"

Zoro sighed. "My best friend. Her name was Kuina; she died years ago. She looked just like you do now."

"You mean I look like her with my hair colored black, but normally I don't?"

"Yes. She had black hair."

That didn't make much sense. Hair color adds a nice touch to a person's appearance, but it doesn't change people's faces. Zoro wouldn't look the slightest like Luffy even if he colored his hair black. Still, she nodded thoughtfully. Usopp had said something like that too. "I see," she said. "And seeing me like this brings back painful memories?"

He grunted. When she didn't say anything else, he added, "Are you going to change it back?"

Nami grinned and stretched with her hands on the back of her head. "Why? I like it black."

"Bitch!" He started to draw the sword he was holding, and for a moment she almost feared he was going to attack her. But he calmed himself with a deep breath and turned his back on her instead. "You're not going to look like that for the rest of this journey!" he growled.

Leaning forward and speaking into his ear, Nami repeated, "I like it like this." When he started to turn around again, she added, "But I might change my mind. How much are you willing to pay?"

Indeed, this could become very profitable.


End file.
